Door operating mechanism for load discharging cars



A. E. ZIMMER July 26, 1949.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR LOAD DISCHARGING CARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 21, 1946 m m Q @M IN VENTOR. 07/778 fi A. E. ZIMMER July 26, 1949.

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR LQAD DISCHARGING CARS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 21, 1946 N Pwtvllo mg m f v INVENTOR. BY A/erl Z. Z/mme/ July 26, 1949. i A. E. ZIMMER 2,477,397

DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR LOAD DISCHARGING CARS Filed March 21, 1946 s Sheets-Sheet 5 y 70 w s% It 59 III'II1/ II I ,5 55 as 9 l 1% M Fig-4 IN VENTOR.

BY fl/barz Z, Z immer Patented July 26, 1949 DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM FOR DISCHARGING CARS LOAD Albert E. Zimmer, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Enterprise Railway Equipment Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application March 21, 1946, Serial No. 655,906

6 Claims. (onus-s) This invention relates to improvements in door operating mechanism for load-discharging gondola cars.

One object of the invention is to provide in connection with operating mechanism for doors of load-discharging cars, including rotary winding means for lifting the doors to closed position, means for protecting the attendant against injury by moving parts of the winding means.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide in load-discharging gondola cars having door operating mechanism including a rotary winding means of a type which, while being rotated to open the doors, travels outwardly toward the side of the car and beyond the side wall thereof, a shielding ,hood which covers the exposed parts of the rotary winding means and travels with said means at all times to provide protection for the attendant while at the side of the car and more particularly when he is standing or holding on to the side ladder of the same.

Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawings, forming a part of this speci- ,fication, Fig. 1 is a sideelevational view of one end portion of a load-discharging gondola car, illustrating my improvements in connection therewith. Fig. 2 is a transverse, vertical sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, showing the structure at one side of the longitudinal center of the car, with the doors in fully closed. position, the open position of the same being indicated in dotted lines. Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional view, corresponding substantially to the line 3--3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, on an enlarged scale and partly broken away, showing the position of the parts when the door is completely open.

In said drawings, my improvements are illustrated in connection with a we1l-known type of operating mechanism for doors .of load-discharging gondola cars, having the doors arranged in two rows lengthwise of the car at opposite sides thereof and hinged along their inner edges to 5 the center sill structure to swing downwardly to discharge the load, and wherein the operating mechanism for the doors comprises lengthwise extending, manually actuated, rotatable shafts at opposite sides of the car adjacent to the outer edges of the doors, for winding flexible. connections by which the doors are lifted, the shafts beingbodily displaceable laterally inwardly be neath the doors to effect locking of the latter in closed position; v i

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the structure at one end of such a car, l0 indicates a portion of the side wall of the car at said end, and II the lower chord member of said side wall. The side ladder, which is located at this end of the car, comprises the usual vertically extending side rails I 2 l2, which are fixed to the side wall I0, having rungs l3 fixedat opposite ends to the side rails, and a depending stirrup l4 hung from the bottom of the car, the bottom cross. piece of the stirrup providing the bottom step l5 of the ladder. The stirrup is also provided with a cross bar or rung l6 above said step l5, forming the second step of the ladder. As illustrated in the drawing which shows only one side of the end of the car and one door 11, this door is hinged along its inner edge on brackets l8 fixed to the center sill structure IQ of said car, and is swingable to the dotted line position shown in Fig. 2 when dropped open. As will be understood, all of the doors of the car are mounted in a similar manner. The usual rotary winding shaft is disposed lengthwise of the car, being supported adjacent to the outer edges of the doors at the corresponding side of said car by the bracket 2| and similar brackets arranged at spaced intervals lengthwise of the car. The guide bracket 2|, as shown in Fig. 4, is secured to the vertical web 22 of the body bolster 23 of the car and is provided with the usual'horizontal guide slot l 2| which accommodates the shaft 20 for lateral displacement, the outer end portion of said slot being downwardly offset, as shown, to maintain the shaft in its initial winding position in operating the doors. As is well understood in this art, the shaft 20 moves laterally inwardly after the operating means has lifted the doors to closed position, to lock the latter tightly closed. The door I! is lifted from the dotted line position shown inFig. 2 to the closed position shown in full lines by the usual link connection 24, comprising links 25, 26, 21, and 28, which are wound on a hub member 29 fixed to the shaft 20, the link 25 at the inner end of the connection being pivotally connected to a projecting arm 3|] on said hub, and the link 28 at the other end of the same being pivotally connected to a projecting bracket 3| at the outer edge of the door ll.

In load-discharging cars having door operating mechanisms of this character, the arrangement is such that the winding mechanisms for operating'the doors at opposite sides of the carat each end thereof are placed where they'might cause injury to a person standing on or holding to side ladders or grab irons. In other words,

when the shaft 20, which carries the hub 29, is in the outermost position, as shown in Fig. 4, the hub and the connection 24 being wound thereon protrude some distance beyond the side of the car between the side rails of the ladder and may cause injury to a person standing on or holding onto theladdef.

In carrying out my invention, I provide broadly a shielding hood A for the winding means of the door operating mechanism, and a guard wall B mounted on the side of the carimmediatelybeneath the side wall thereof and in alignment therewith and. having an opening therein to accommodate the hood. L v

The hood A, which is preferably made of I metal, has spaced side walls 32-32, a bottom wall 33, a vertical front wall 34,, and a Curved top wall 35. The top, front, and bottom w alls e1;- tend from one side wall to the other" and are preferably formed integral therewith. The hood is thds open at the back, I k 4 as clearly shown in Fig, 1, the middle' portions of the side walls 32 32 eaten'd vertically are substantially parallel to each other, and. the upper and lower portions of said walls above and below said parallel portions are inclined laterally inwardlythat is; the upper portions are inclined inwardly toward each other in u ward directi n and the lower portions are inclined inwardly to} ward each other in downward direction. The hood A thus presents a transverse, vertical sec tion of substantially octagonal shape. These side walls also converge toward each other very slighttoward the front of the hood, as shown in Fig. 3:... Adjacent to the front wall 34, the bottom ii/all 3.3 is depressed or bulged downwardly as indicated at 36, to properly support the hood when in the position shown in Fig. 2, as hereinafter .pointed out. The side walls 32 32 are spaced so as to embrace the hub 29 of the winding. means, and the links wound thereon at bin posite Sides. These side walls are provided with aligned circular openings 31- 31, and; accent mo'd'ate the rotary shaft .20. The openings 3|'--'3'l are of slightly greater diameter than the shaft sothat the shaft is freely rotatable therein and stillfit's the openings to effect movei'n nt of the hoodbodily therewith in lateral diretiol' 'l. Whii th shaft is laterally displaced in the guildeway I21, of the guide bracket 2|. The top, bottom, and front Walls 35; 34, and 33, are spaced a, distance from the center of rotation of the shaft 26 that ample clearance is provided air the connection 24 beingv'v'ouhd on the hub 29, the curvature of the top wall 35 being on an are me ing the fsame center as the shaft 20. A length wise extending, laterally projecting; horizontal guide flange ,38is provided on the hood A at the left-hand side thereof, as seen in Figs. 1 and 3, said fliange being located on the vertical section of thecoresponding side wall 32 and projleeting laterally'therefrom.

,"I he guard wall B is provided by the usual sub-'- side sill of the car immediately beneath the side wall Ill in back of the ladder and extends be yond the op osite sides of the latter, as clearly shown in Fig. 1; Themain body portion of this wall is in a vertical plane aligned with the side wall {ll of the car. At its upperend, the wall B is sec ured to the horizontal section. of the lower chord member ll of the side wall *ofthe car; beingp-rovided with aninturned flahgef39 secured by rivets, as shown inFig. 2. shown most ly in Figs. 2;and 4; the wall ZB is provided the usual intu-rned horizontal flange 41 at.

4 its lower end which underlies the bottom wall of the hood A, and an inclined section 42 immediately above the flange 4|. The flange 4| is preferably cut away on its inner side, as indicated at 43, to provide clearance for the flexible connection 24 as it is being unwound from the hub of the shaftjfl', g V

shown in Fig. 1, the wall B has an opening 44 therethrough corresponding in shape to the left=hand side of the opening 44, the Wall E has a guide slot 45 therethrough, which communicates with said opening and is adapted to accommodate the guide flange 38 of the hood A. This shit is of a size toprovide ample clearance for the guide flange 38 during the upward and downwar displacement of the hood heie'ihberare referred to; y When the door I! is in closed position, asshowi l in Fig. 2, the actuating shaft 20 of the door opera mg mechani m is at the extreme right haiid end of the "slot L21 of the'bracket 21, with the chain 24 wound 'onthedru'in, locking the deer in closed position. In this positidnfcf the parts. the front or outer side of the need A is just to the rear "of the wall B and the depressed portion at of the bottom wall 33 rests on the botto'iii wall of the opening 44, thus blocking the opening effectively preventing a erson on the side ladder from accidentally getting his foot, or n nil, tr anyotlier portion of his body in the ope g of the wall. In this position'of the hood te guide flange 38 thereof b 'ojects into the slot '45 of thewall B to prevent rotation of the hood with the shaft 20. v To open the door n, the shaft 20 is ro ated-in clockwise direction, as viewed i'n Fig, 2, thereby unwinding the links 24 from the nut 29 cf the shaft, forcing the shaft to slide from b' iieatiltil'e door toward the outer end of the slot l2! to lin look the oor, bringing the shaft to approxiin telythe position shown in Fi 4. In thlsfl bsitloll; tfiesnart 20 has "dropped into the depressed neat end portion or the slot lzl. As will be evident; the hood A is earned outwardly by the shaft to the position shown in Fig. 4, the bottom wall of the hood riding on the bot om wall or the tetra ihg 44 bf the wall B, thereby lowering the hood to correspond with the d oppin of the shaft all as-it enters the depressed portion or the not an, this rrldveni'entdr the hood being permitted by the higher level portionbf t e wall 3; re the rear of the biilge 35 During this outward dis placement or the hood together with the shaft '20, rotation of the'hoojd abolit the aids of the shaft is elrectively prevented by the lccttein wall or the hood being guided on the bottom wall of the opening 44 and by engagement or the guide flange as within the slot '45 or the wall 13-. "mas; mirth as the doo I! is free to rop after, it has been trlloc ked; the weight of the same are" a strong 151111 the links 24, tending t nwind the same and eadsing the shaft 211 and the will it of the winding means, the shaft 20 is rotated in contraclockwise direction, that is, it is rotated in a direction reverse to the rotation thereof in opening the doors, and the operation of all of the parts is substantially the reverse of that described in connection with the door-opening operation, movement of the shaft 20 and the hood A being in a direction inwardly of the car, the the hood A covers the exposed parts of the windhood receding through the opening of the wall B to the position shown in Fig. 1. Inasmuch as mg means and blocks the opening of the wall B in all possible positions of the operating mechanism in opening and closing of the doors, full protection against injury is provided for any person standing on or holding onto the ladder.

I claim:

1. In a door operating mechanism for loaddischarging cars, the combination with a rotary actuating shaft; of winding means on said shaft, said shaft together with the winding means being laterally displaceable during operation thereof; a hood overhanging said winding means, said hood being connected to said shaft for displacement in unison therewith; and means for holding said hood against rotation with respect to said shaft.

2. In a door operating mechanism for loaddischarging cars having a vertical side wall, the combination with a rotary actuating shaft parallel to said side wall; of winding means on said shaft, said shaft together with said winding means being laterally displaceable toward and away from said wall during operation thereof; a hood covering said winding means, said hood being connected with said shaft for bodily displacement therewith; a vertical guard wall beneath said side wall in alignment therewith, said guard wall having an opening therethrough to accommodate said hood; and cooperating guide means on said hood and guard wall for holding the hood against rotation with the shaft.

3. In a door operating mechanism for loaddischarging cars, the combination with a rotary actuating shaft parallel to the side of the car; of winding means on said shaft, said shaft together with the winding means being laterally displaceable toward the side of the oar during operation of said shaft, said winding means being projected outwardly beyond the side of the car during said lateral displacement thereof; a hood overhanging and covering said winding means at the outer side thereof, said hood being connected to the shaft for lateral displacement in unison therewith; a guard wall at the side of the car, said wall having an opening therethrough to movably accommodate said hood; and cooperating guide means on said wall and hood for holding the hood against rotation with the shaft.

4. In a load-discharging drop-door car having a vertical side wall and a side ladder on said wall, the combination with a rotary winding means for opening and closing the doors of said car; of a rotary shaft for actuating said Winding means, said shaft being parallel to said side wall and having the Winding means mounted thereon for rotation therewith, said shaft together with said winding means being laterally displaceable toward said wall and beyond the same during operation thereof; a hood covering said winding means at the top, bottom, sides, and front thereof, said hood being connected to said shaft for bodily dis placement therewith; a vertical guard wall beneath said side Wall in alignment therewith, said guard wall having an opening therethrough to accommodate said hood; and cooperating guide means on said hood and guard wall holding said hood against rotation with the shaft.

5. In a load-discharging drop-door car having a vertical side wall and a side ladder on said wall, the combination with a rotary winding means for opening and closing the doors of said car; of a rotary shaft for actuating said windin means, said shaft being parallel to said side wall and having the winding means mounted thereon for rotation therewith, said shaft together with said winding means being laterally displaceable toward said wall and beyond the same during operatlon thereof; a hood covering said winding means, said hood being connected to said shaft for bodily displacement therewith; a vertical guard wall beneath said side wall in alignment therewith, said guard wall being in back of said ladder and extending beyond opposite sides of the same, said guard wall having an opening therethrough between the sides of the ladder to accommodate said hood; and cooperating guide means on said hood and guard wall holding said hood against rotation with the shaft.

6. In a door operating mechanism for loaddischarging cars, the combination with a rotary shaft and winding means on said shaft rotatable therewith, said shaft being disposed lengthwise of the car and being laterally displaceable during operation thereof; of a hood covering said winding means, said hood having spaced side walls embracing said winding means on opposite sides, said walls having aligned openings therethrough rotatably accommodating said shaft; a guideway on the car; and a guide flange on said hood slidingly engaged in said guideway for holding the hood against rotation with the shaft.

ALBERT E. ZIMMER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 992,555 Gabriel May 16, 1911 1,639,669 Rutz Aug. 23, 1927 1,681,141 Terhune Aug. 14, 1928 

